The Effects of Personality Type, Gender, Age, Teaching Experience, and Academic Degree on the Teaching Style of Persian Language Instructors for Speakers of Other Languages

In present scholarship, a clear awareness has been developed concerning the importance of personality traits and psychological issues within the realm of education, particularly in the field of language education. Not only does the awareness regarding individual differences and personality characteristics of language learners, and the adaptation of educational measures to the diversity of their needs and preferences by the teacher, improve and promote the learners' learning process, but it is also crucial to recognize and analyze the individual characteristics of the teacher. By doing so, it enables the adaptation of the teaching method to cater to the preferences and needs of the learners. This study aims to investigate the relationship between various factors, namely personality type, gender, academic degree, age, and teaching experience, of Persian language teachers and their teaching styles. The participants of this research consist of 45 instructors from the Persian Language Teaching Centers at Imam Khomeini International University and Tabriz University. To this end, a mixed-methods approach with the use of a survey method based on Myers-Briggs and Grasha questionnaires was adopted and the obtained data was analyzed with SPSS software. The findings of this study showed that among professors, facilitating and expert styles outnumbered other features. Furthermore, in comparison to men, women tend to exhibit a higher propensity for facilitating styles. In the case of the facilitating style, the variable exhibited the highest frequency among participants holdings master's and PhD degrees. The bipolar variables of introvert and extrovert were found to be statistically significant for both individual and facilitating styles. Ultimately, a relationship exists between all the teaching styles and the teaching experience possessed by the professors. Such relationship was statistically significant, especially when considering the expert and authoritarian styles.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
In modern approaches to language teaching, such as cognitive and communicative approaches, the influence of learners' cognitive and personality types, as well as those of their teachers, on the learning-teaching process is highly significant. In the process of learning, especially foreign language learning, students have different needs, preferences, goals, and individual characteristics. Successful teachers should design their syllabi to meet the diverse educational needs of their students. On the other hand, teachers have personal characteristics and preferences that significantly affect their teaching styles and methods, and thus, the learning of their students. It is truism that if teachers and curriculum designers further appreciate and recognize the individual differences that affect learning and teaching, their teaching quality and performance shall improve.
This study aims to investigate how personality types and individual differences such as gender, age, teaching experience, and academic degrees of Persian Language Instructors for Speakers of Other Languages influence their teaching styles. According to contemporary educational theories and methodologies, the primary purpose of a teacher in the classroom is not to provide one-sided instruction and enforce discipline, but instead to establish a direct and authentic rapport with students that enables them to observe and acquire the desired behaviors and skills through modeling.Citton (2015) cited in Messaour (2022: 225-226) observes:
"The role of a teacher involves adopting a type of reflective practice, also known as self-reflective, which constantly examines and analyzes their teaching methods to adapt them to the expectations and needs of learners. Within such spectrum, the notion of self-awareness, particularly with the aid of psychological [personality] typology, can assist the educator in gaining a better understanding of their psychological functioning. This naturally leads to enriching their reflective practices as well as improving their teaching practices."
Personality, or personality type, refers to a set of physical, psychological, and behavioral characteristics that distinguish an individual from others (Sadeghian & Sheikhpour, 2011:9), and in various situations and circumstances, it maintains relative stability and continuity and determines the current and future patterns of behaviors in individuals (Poursaberi & Yagoubi Beglar, 2018:120).
The renowned Swiss psychologist Carl Jung categorized personality types into 8 types (3 dichotomies) in order to describe them. Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers expanded on this to 16 personality types (4 dichotomies), known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The MBTI helps individuals identify their own and others' motivations, abilities, and personality types (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004: 38) (See table below).
 




Personality Types in MBTI test




Dichotomy feature


Dichotomy element


Dichotomy feature


Dichotomy element


Determining factors of personal preferences in decision-making




They get energy from the environment and react faster to making decisions. They think out loud and are active.


Extrovert


They derive energy from within and have a limited communication circle. They are interested in mental activities such as studying.


 
 
Introvert


 
 
Energy source




They use their sixth sense more and are interested in things that should be. They are imaginative and future-oriented and these people spend most of their time dreaming.


Intuitive


They receive most of their information from the environment using their five senses. They are detailed and focused on the objective.


 
 
Sensor


 
 
Perception of information




They make their decisions and judgments based on logic and objectivity.


Thinker


They make most of their decisions based on their feelings and personal values.


 
Feeler


 
Decision making




They look for a flexible and adaptable life. Their decision-making process is thorough and deliberate, as they prioritize gathering extensive information pertaining to the subject matter. They tend to defer making a decision until the last moment.


 
Perceiver
 


They are driven to lead an orderly, deliberative and disciplined life, finding satisfaction in structured decision making.
 


 
 
 
Judger


 
 
 
Life style




As noted earlier, one of the objectives of this study is to examine the effects of gender, age, teaching experience, and educational background on the teaching styles of Persian language instructors based on the styles proposed by Grasha. As Larenas Diaz (2011) notes, Grasha believes in the existence of five different teaching styles that include, Expert, Formal, Authority, Personal model, Facilitator and Delegator.
“Teaching style refers to how the educator acts at the level of practice and the tools they use when interacting with learners. Personal characteristics of the teacher can determine their styles. Methods refer to the techniques of teachers, while styles specifically refer to the distinct qualities of a teacher in a given situation, regardless of the content being taught” (Haghani et al., 2011:944).
Methodology
The participants of this study include 45 teachers and faculty members from Persian language teaching centers at Imam Khomeini International University (30) and Tabriz University (15), aged between 27 and 53. Among them, 15 were male and 30 were female. Furthermore, in terms of academic degrees, 20 participants held a doctoral degree and 25 had a master's degree. In terms of teaching experience, all participants were in teaching profession between 3 to 20 years. The data of this research were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and statistical methods (frequency, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation coefficient) at a significant level of p < 0.05. Two questionnaires, Mayer and Briggs' personality types and Grasha's teaching styles, were used to collect data. To obtain reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) for each teaching style separately, as well as for the total of all styles and personality types, the analysis was done and the result is presented in the following table.




Personality type


The sum of all styles


Delegator


Facilitator


Personal model


Formal Authority


Expert


 




0.67


0.87


0.76


0.77


0.66


0.62


0.65


Cronbach's alpha




 Results and discussion
Among the 45 participating educators in the study, 12 types of personality were identified out of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types. Among these, the personality types ISTJ (introvert, sensor, thinker, and judger), ESTJ (extravert, sensor, thinker, and judger), and INTJ (introvert, intuitive, thinker, and judger) had the highest frequencies with 27%, 24%, and 9%, respectively. Based on the obtained results (Pearson correlation coefficient), there was a relationship between all personality types and teaching styles. This relationship, with a confidence level of 95% and p<0.05, was only significant in the dichotomous variables of introversion and extraversion in the personal model and facilitator teaching styles.
Conclusion
The findings of this research also posted a positive and significant relationship between personality types (introverted and extroverted dichotomy) and the selection of teaching styles, indicating that the personality types of teachers play a significant role in their teaching methods. With regard to specific teaching styles, the current research identified the Facilitator (16 individuals), Expert (13 individuals), Personal Model (6 individuals), Delegator (6 individuals), and Authority (4 individuals) styles, respectively, from the highest to the lowest frequency. Regarding the relationship between teaching styles and the academic qualifications of the teachers, it was observed that teachers with a doctoral degree preferred facilitator, expert, and advocacy styles, while teachers with a master's degree selected facilitator and expert styles. Furthermore, a relationship was found between all teaching styles and the teaching experience of the educators.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to appreciate the teachers for their time and efforts to participate in this research.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.